In the Zone
In the Zone is the fourth Britney Spears, released on November 16, 2003, by Jive Records. Following the end of the Dream Within a Dream Tour in July 2002 and her break-up with Justin Timberlake, Spears announced she would take a six-month break from her career. She started working on the album in November 2002, with producers such as Bloodshy & Avant, R. Kelly, Christopher Stewart, Moby, Guy Sigsworth and The Matrix. Musically, In the Zone is a dance-oriented album that incorporates elements of various genres, such as house, trip hop and hip hop. It features instrumentation from guitars, drums, synthesizers, strings and Middle Eastern musical instruments. Spears began writing songs for In the Zone while touring around the world, despite not knowing the direction of the album. She started to experiment with different producers, trying to find those who she had chemistry with. Spears stated she was an autobiographical songwriter, although not the point were she felt self-exploited. She also explained that the sexual nature of In the Zone was subconscious and happened while she was in the process of developing the album. The topic for the songs range from love, dancing, empowerment, and in the case of songs such as "Touch of My Hand", sex and masturbation. After its release, In the Zone received mixed reviews from critics. Some appreciated the album, calling it a strong and confident pop record, while complimenting the mix of different styles and Spears's skills as a songwriter. Others however, criticized it for what they perceived as distant and processed vocals. Commercially, In the Zone became an international success, debuting atop of the charts in France and the United States, and peaking inside the top ten in eleven countries. In the United States, she became the first female artist to have four consecutive number-one albums. In the Zone went on to become the eighth best selling album of 2003. Four singles were released from the album: "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime" became worldwide hits, peaking at number one in Australia and reaching top five positions worldwide. To promote In the Zone, Spears performed the songs in a number of television appearances and also embarked on The Onyx Hotel Tour. The album and its music videos are largely seen by critics as the end of her transition from teen pop star to a more adult female artist. In 2009, Amy Schriefer of NPR listed In the Zone as one of The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade, calling it "a primer on the sound of pop in the '00s". Track Listing Standard Edition: Latin America Bonus Track: European, Japanese and Australian Bonus Tracks: [[Wikipedia:DualDisc|'DualDisc']]' Edition Bonus Videos:' Singles "Me Against the Music" (featuring Madonna), the album's lead single, charted number one in international countries, such as Denmark and Spain. The song's music video features Spears chasing Madonna in a nightclub. Their kiss at the end of the video is similar to the one they had during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. "Toxic", the album's second single, is one of Spears' greatest songs. It charted the top five in 15 countries, and reaching number one in Australia, Brazil and the United Kingdom. Its music video is Spears' most expensive video (it cost $1 million). "Everytime", the album's third single, was apparently a response to Justin Timberlake's 2002 song "Cry Me a River". The song is named one of Britney's best ballads. The concept of the song's music video was very controversial. "Outrageous", the album's fourth and final single, charted only in the United States and was not sucessful like the album's previous singles. A music video was planned, but Spears hurt her knee and had to undergo arthroscopic surgery. The video was canceled, as well as The Onyx Hotel Tour. Me_Against_The_Music.JPG|"Me Against the Music" Toxic.JPG|"Toxic" Everytime.JPG|"Everytime" Outrageous.JPG|"Outrageous" Unused songs Underlined can be found on the internet. "Conscience" - Known alternatively as "Conscious" "Disguise My Love" - Published by Elleganza Music Publishing and Universal Music Corporation. A Producer demo (Sans Britney vocals) leaked on the internet. "Get It" - Known alternatively as "Get It, Get It (Get It My Way)" and "I Said" "Graffiti My Soul" - Recorded by Girls Aloud for their second album What Will the Neighbours Say? (2004) "Guilty" - Known alternatively as "Guilty Kiss", samples Prince's "Kiss" (1986) "Hollow" - Little is known about this song "It Feels Nice" - The re-worked version of the rap Britney performed on her 1999 tour and during her 2003 'Punk'd' appearance, known alternatively as "Sin City" "Like I'm Fallin'" - Known alternatively as "Falling" "Look Who's Talking Now" - Recorded as "Look Who's Talking" on BoA's English debut album BoA (2009) "Money Love and Happiness" - Published by Elleganza Music Publishing, EMI Blackwood Music Inc and Universal Music Corporation "My Big Secret" - Known alternatively as "Secret" "Ouch" - Published by Elleganza Music Publishing and Universal Music Corporation "Peep Show" - Published by Elleganza Music Publishing and Universal Music Corporation "Rockstar" - Published by 7 Syllables Music, Marchninenth Music, Songs of Peer LTD and Tabulous Music "Sacred" - Little is known about this song "Sippin' On" - Published by 7 Syllables Music, Marchninenth Music, Songs of Peer LTD and Tabulous Music "Strangest Love" - Registered with Broadcast Music Incorporated Fun facts * "Me Against the Music" was originally going to be a solo song, but Spears got Madonna to record her vocals. * The symbols in the album's booklet spell out "Britney Spears". * Spears didn't want to shoot the video for "Outrageous" because she was fatigued from finishing The Onyx Hotel Tour. It's possible that this caused her knee injury. * "Outrageous" was sent to radio in two formats: a shortened version and the version with a faster instrumental. * "Shadow" was intended to be the lead single from In the Zone, but "Me Against the Music" was selected over it. * "Shadow" is registered twice on ASCAP, meaning an alternative version was recorded. It has different writers. This version is rumored to be a Spanish version, titled 'Sombre', but this wasn't confirmed nor denied. * "Chaotic" and "Over to You Now" were supposed to be included on the album, but we're cut. They were later included on Spears' extended play Britney & Kevin: Chaotic. * "Chaotic" was replaced with "Brave New Girl", and was supposed to be a bonus track, but this was scrapped. * When the intro on "Touch of My Hand" is reversed, it's possible to hear the instruments how they were recorded. * "(I Got That) Boom Boom" was intended to be the lead, second and third single off the album, but ended up never being released. * The unreleased song "Sippin' On" was supposed to be included on the bonus CD that came with the album's DVD. However, it was cut and later leaked online. * The album cover was much more zoomed on Spears' face than intended. There's also a cover of Spears' full figure. * The album was originally titled Get In the Zone, but was changed due to copyright issues. * Spears called "Toxic" her favorite song from her entire discography. * Spears co-wrote most of the album tracks, and often changed the lyrics to suit herself. * On the international standard edition of the album, the album includes "The Answer" which is not present in the U.S. edition. * The first song recorded for the album was "Touch of My Hand". * "Breathe on Me" was also planned to be released as a single (possibly after "Outrageous"), but was cancelled after Spears hurt her knee. * "Brave New Girl" was originally meant to be titled "Brave Girl". * It's also rumored "Toxic"'s original name was "Toxic Guy". ** A Brazilian magazine previewed tracks from In the Zone before the album's release, it said the sixth track on the album was called "Toxic Guy" and as the magazine was written in Portuguese, it may have been a translation error. ** The same magazine also said the album was supposed to be called 'Outrageous' (this again, may have been a translation error, a rumour, or might have actually been considered to be an album title at one point). * "Toxic" was the only single to win Spears a Grammy. * It was rumored in early 2004 that In the Zone was going to be re-released with new tracks. Her manager Larry Ruldoph also apparently seemed to hint at this, at the time. This never happened. * There is an alternative version of "Early Mornin'" - it features much stronger vocals from Spears and she says 'shit' in the chorus. * Spears was supposed to perform "(I Got That) Boom Boom" with the Ying Yang Twins on SNL in 2003, but couldn't because they had other commitments. She performed "Everytime" instead. * "(I Got That) Boom Boom" was released on radio in South Africa as the second single and was on their VIP track list on a radio station called 5FM, until they were told that "Toxic" was the new single instead. * On Twitter a fan asked Spears "What's your favorite song from all your albums?" Spears said that her favorite song is Toxic. Album commercials Britney Spears - In the Zone Commercial|US Britney Spears French Commercial In The Zone|France Britney Spears - In The Zone (Brazilian Commercial)|Brazil Digital booklet 96075 britney spears in the zone.jpg|Front cover In the Zone CD.jpeg|CD Disc In the Zone Booklet 1.jpeg In the Zone Booklet 2.jpeg In the Zone Booklet 3.jpeg In the Zone Booklet 4.jpeg In the Zone Booklet 5.jpeg In the Zone Booklet 6.jpeg In the Zone Booklet 7.jpeg In the Zone Booklet 8.jpeg In the Zone Back Cover.jpeg|Back cover/Tracklisting Designs 96075 britney spears in the zone.jpg|The Original Album 51+AJJw-BHL. SL500 AA300 .jpg|In The Zone/Britney CD Of The 2 Original albums 51P1LDliuwL. SL500 AA300 .jpg|In The Zone Japanese Cover DualDisc edition bonus videos of In The Zone.jpg|DualDisc edition bonus videos of In The Zone DVD-Audio edition bonus content of In The Zone.jpg|The In The Zone DVD-Audio edition bonus content 31vkdYI4JmL. SX385 .jpg|In The Zone T-Shirt Britney-In-the-zone.jpg|Full figure of Spears Category:Discography Category:Studio albums